Prostate cancer ’fingerprint’ detected in blood sample

Scientists at UCL have invented a new test to identify the earliest genetic changes of prostate cancer in blood: a process which could allow doctors to see if cancers have spread, monitor tumour behaviour and enable better treatment selection. In the study, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers at UCL Cancer Institute used Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to establish if they could identify prostate cancer DNA in blood plasma. Previous studies have focused on tissue samples, however this requires an invasive biopsy. Researchers say their successful discovery in blood represents a prostate tissue "fingerprint" or early circulating biomarker, and when detected identifies that cancer is active and spreading. As this can be detected in a simple blood test, commonly known as a liquid biopsy, physicians could monitor cancer response to treatment regularly and in real-time. Moving forward researchers will see if this test could complement or replace the traditional prostate specific antigen test, which is used for prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Lead author, Dr Anjui Wu (UCL Cancer Institute), said: "Metastatic prostate cancer - the most dangerous late stage of the disease - can vary substantially in its treatment response and clinical progression.